General Motors is adopting something new to its Essential Brand Elements program for U.S. dealerships. Automotive News reports Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac dealers must gear up to include digital signage beginning in 2018.
Digital signage has not been adopted by many automakers but it’s beginning to become more popular. The signage includes controlled programming for dealerships’ waiting room televisions and advertising on other various video screens inside the dealership. The controlled programming would eliminate local broadcasting, meaning customers will not see ads from competitors, only ads and other content from GM brands.
GM says the program will provide greater flexibility for its dealers market messages to the public and customers with the ability to push the content locally, regionally or nationally. Cadillac, though, will have its own digital signage program.
“Someday, all dealers will have digital signage,” said Jerry Daniels, CEO of Automotive Broadcasting Network, a digital signage vendor. “It’s taking a bit longer than we expected.”
GM dealers will undergo assessments this year for the program to see what each dealer will need. The program will go into full effect in 2018. Cost is expected to vary with the number of screens and size of the dealership itself. One analyst stated dealers spend around $2,000 to $3,000 per month on a 36-month-long subscription to vendors for the service.
Neither Ford or Fiat-Chrysler require digital signage in their dealers, but Nissan incorporated the design into its U.S. dealerships two years ago.
Comments
Dealer will have to increase administration fee on each deal. How many units will this feature add to volume?
The market will not allow Buick or GMC to increase prices any higher without the addition of new content. Look at Lacrosse? Envision? Terrain? Sales are too weak and dealers will eat the cost.
Anyway, how long will these brands last? Barra will probably sell them to PSA for 2 Billion next year!
I think it’s nothing but bullying tactics by the Corporations and reminds me of professional sports teams that cant put a good product on the field of play to entertain the fans so they put in all the digital signs to entertain them instead. Now the dealers are doing the same with their showrooms to entertain customers because they can’t give them a good product for a reasonable price.